DxO Labs Filed for Bankruptcy in France

Many folks have no doubt read industry reports that DxO Labs filed for bankruptcy in France. The question on many photographers’ minds who use OpticsPro, PhotoLab or some of the company’s other software, is what this filing means and what they should do next.

Looking back, I suppose an early warning sign that something may have been awry happened in the fall of 2017 when DxO Mark and DxO Labs split into two separate companies under different owners.

DxO Mark, which was the testing and ranking portion of the original business, is not affected by the bankruptcy filing.

DxO Labs, the software and camera segment (i.e. DxO One camera add-on for smartphones) of the original company is the part affected by the bankruptcy filing in France.

At this point it is unclear what will happen with DxO Labs. It could be allowed to restructure and continue in some kind of revised format when it emerges. It could be bought by another company that may continue to produce its products. Segments of DxO Labs could be split up and sold, or a portion of the company could be allowed to restructure and continue. Worst case, the company cannot find a way to continue and may be liquidated.

No doubt many photographers will be disappointed with this news as they enjoy using OpticsPro, PhotoLab or other DxO Labs software. Some photographers may have been hoping that DxO Labs’ purchase of the Nik Collection from Google last year would have resulted in an updated, and more powerful version of that software program. The bankruptcy filing puts the future of the Nik Collection under a cloud.

It is still too early to know how all of this will play out. For many photographers who are not planning to purchase any new lenses or camera bodies in the near future, there will not be any immediate impact.

People who have relied on DxO Lab photo software to provide automatic lens and camera corrections will need to see if any updates on new camera gear are forthcoming from the company. If those updates continue to be issued, their fears about the future will be lessened to some degree.

I have made it a practice to always buy a back-up CD of any software that I purchase, if such a back-up is available. If the worst happens with DxO Labs and it is liquidated, I do have a back-up CD of the program that cost me an extra $15US when I placed my original software order. That will help get me through in the short to medium term.

The three programs that I use right now (DxO PhotoLab, CS6 and the Nik Collection) all still work fine and I enjoy using them. I see no reason to worry about this recent DxO Labs development. If I need to rethink my post processing approach down the road, I’ll cross that bridge when I need to. In the meantime I’ll continue to have fun creating images with my current camera gear and software programs.

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10 thoughts on “DxO Labs Filed for Bankruptcy in France”

It looks like things are headed in a better direction for DXO – they just released updates to the NIK collection to make it 64 bit and compatible with newer host programs (read Photoshop CC). Also, for those looking for a cheaper way of using NIK plugins, you can run them with the benefits of layers through Skylum’s Luminar program. Finally, DXO updated PhotoLab’s U-Point local adjustments to allow for better one controls (shadows, highlights, etc.). Fingers crossed!

As per my earlier post, this update makes it clear that; i) current proceedings are for Bankruptcy *Protection* – NOT insolvency, and ii) DxO intends to be there for the long-term, with clear plans for new releases of PhotoLab and Nik Collection.

DxO is involved in a ‘procédure de redressement judiciaire’, which translates literally (but not factually) as ‘insolvency proceedings’ … this being the basis of the reporting you probably saw on dpreview (and elsewhere).

However, I have some more info on this, from a “good and reliable source”;

Apparently, this action was brought to court by suppliers to DxO – and in response, as I understand it, an administrator has been appointed to spread the debt and DxO has commenced a bankruptcy recovery process.

In the French legal system, this situation is more akin to the American concept of Chapter 11 … which is intended to provide protection from creditors to a company in financial difficulty, whilst it reorganises.

So, whilst this is definitely not good news!! … it’s likely not as bad as it reads.

Whenever I get an update to DxO, I always save to disk. In addition, I also keep the previous update (in case there are any problems with the latest update, I can always go back to the previous version). Once installed on a computer, you don’t need to enter the serial/purchase # again for any updates. However, if you install on a new computer, then that # is required. That might also happen if you update your OS (definitely if you have to reinstall).

IF DxO goes under, then I will only worry when/if I have to purchase a new PC or completely change my OS.

I would advise anyone that is thinking of adding any lenses and/or cameras to download the lens modules ASAP. While I expect these will still be available for some time, there is no reason to take any chances. Even if you are not certain, you can always download now and delete later if you change your mind.

Am I concerned? Yes. However, I don’t plan on adding any new gear, so I know that my setup will continue to work (at least for a while). If DxO does go under, then newer cameras will not work with the gear (the program will not recognize the NEF/RAW files). While it would work with JPGs, I believe most people use this program to work NEF/RAW, so the benefits would be greatly reduced.

My last bit of advise: Stay tuned to Toms’ website. I am sure he will keep us up to date.

When you download the software from DXO there is a note that an internet connection is required for activation – when the software is on a DXO supplied CD is this step not needed? I am not worried about my internet connection – just whether or not DXO will still be there to connect to!

Hi Patrick,
That is a good question. I’ve never had to use any of the backup DxO CDs so I don’t know what would happen in terms of needing an online connection. The CD does appear to contain the complete program and I keep the activation code with the CD. With other programs I have, typically I would just upload from the CD, then put in the activation code without having to go online. Not sure if that is the same process with DxO.
Tom